White Walls
by Arcbound Illusionist
Summary: Gokudera broke up with Yamamoto two months ago to do Reborn's mission without having anything to trouble his mind. Two months after their break-up, he returned to Japan, not expecting that Yamamoto prepared something for him upon his return.
1. White

Well, this is another fanfic that I made from my Livejournal Account

Naturalism is the literary movement evident in the fic.

Hope you enjoyed it.

* * *

October 12, XX59 ----- 19:00 hours - Gokudera's house

Gokudera opened the door to his bedroom and entered inside. He then pressed the light switch that was located beside the doorway to turn on the lights inside. When the light illuminated the room, he saw that nothing had changed; the cabinets, the lampshade, the pillows, the bed. All of these things were still in its position since he left it. Without further adieu, he lie down in his bed and hugged his pillow.

Gokudera meticulously stared at the white walls of his bedroom. He realized that since he left it two months ago, nothing had changed. The ghost white walls were still the same white walls that he knew; clean and smudge-free. Then, he roamed his eyes around the room, still seeing the same ghost white walls. He was so bored with its whiteness that he wished to see something other than white.

He wished that he would saw other color in the wall, red, green, purple, orange, blue... especially blue.

He just closed his eyes and he saw black.

* * *

_Two months ago_ (August 12, XX59) - 17:00 hours - Gokudera's house

_The sound of the buzzer broke his established chain of thought about the issue. He got up fast and opened the door just to see a pissed-off Yamamoto holding up a letter,_

_"What's the meaning of this, Gokudera?"_

_He stole the letter from Yamamoto with his left hand and faced it towards the Japanese, "Don't you understand what is written, idiot?" and slowly, he read the content of the letter while his right forefinger was slowly moving towards the words, "I'm ending our relationship."_

_"Why? Did I do anything wrong?"_

_Gokudera sensed that tears was now forming from Yamamoto's eyes, but he stayed strong, "No. I just want to end this boyfriend-shit thing between us."_

_"If there's no reason, then why?" and finally, tears fell from Yamamoto's cheerful eyes._

_Gokudera took a deep breath and replied,_

_"You! You are my problem! Don't you understand? Because of you, no one ever appreciated me! Because of you, I couldn't be the best and most of all, because of you," and he shouted "I COULDN'T BE THE TENTH'S RIGHT HAND MAN!"_

_Yamamoto was shocked from what he had heard from the Italian. "Gokudera, I don't want to be Tsuna's right-hand man! I just want to protect him and love you! Go get that damn position if you wanted to, but please, please Gokudera… don't end this." In an instant, he pulled Gokudera and hugged him._

_Gokudera desperately freed himself from the other man's hug. Yamamoto was still in shock on what Gokudera did._

_"What part of 'I don't want you anymore!' can't you comprehend?"_

_"Everything!"_

_"Then understand this, idiot!" He stepped back and banged the door forcefully._

_The baseball player stopped the door using his right hand. Afterwards, he grabbed Gokudera's shirt and slammed him into the wall. He stared at Gokudera angrily and controlling himself in all possible ways, he said, _

_"Is it this easy for you to end our relationship, huh, Gokudera? Is it this easy for you to end our 9 months of relationship?"_

_"Fuckin' yes! any problem?"  
_

_ His tears flowed again from his black eyes. Then, he continued with a controlled voice, "Tell me, did you ever value our relationship?"_

_Gokudera now assumed that the baseball freak was starting to lose his patience, which he saw as a good thing. Now, all he needed was to further add fuel to the man's rage to make him erupt._

_"Our relationship," he started, "was just a pastime to kill time. Do you really expect that I would have feelings for a naive, simplistic freak like you? You wish! I just used you. Good thing you have a large cock to satisfy me. You're useless without your cock!"_

_"So you just like me because of sex?" His stare deepened, showing the anger that he was holding at bay started to overflow._

_"Hell, yeah! Did your pea-sized brain really assume I love you? Dream on, jerkass! I just needed something to do while waiting mission from the boss or from Reborn-san. Didn't you enjoy it as well?"_

_Yamamoto fell silent; his glare was still focused on Gokudera but his hand let go of the shorter boy's shirt. Gokudera knew that he was about to snap, so he finally delivered the finishing blow._

_"Why silent?" and he stole a glance at Yamamoto's bulging erection from his pants. He let out a sarcastic smile, "Guess I'm right about what I said."_

_Yamamoto was still silent, unreactive.  
_

_ "Hey, want me to give you a blowjob? Or should I ride on your cock? Well, since that cock was the only useful part of yours, I should bid goodbye to it in a good way," and pulled Yamamoto towards his room by the arm._

_Yamamoto swayed away his hand from Gokudera's grasp. Then, in one swift motion, he pulled Gokudera's arm towards him. Gokudera did not resist, knowing that Yamamoto had snapped and he had no chance of getting out of it._

_"Gokudera, this is the last time that I'll let you humiliate me! This is also the last time that you'll see this Yamamoto crazy over you."_

_"Really?"_

_He cupped the silver haired man's face and lifted it in full strength, "The next time we meet, I won't be the same idiotic guy that would give everything for you. The next time we meet, I will never be the same Rain Guardian that would give up his life for an ungrateful scum like you. And the next time we meet, I'll make you experience every bit of pain that I feel right now!"_

_He dropped the boy in the floor and head towards the door. Before he left, he smiled coldly and uttered in a cold voice,_

_"Fuck you, Gokudera Hayato."_

_The door closed with a bang. Gokudera let out a sigh of relief. He was happy that this ended much more peaceful than expected. However, his sight of the recently closed door started to become wobbly, and then watery. He rubbed his eyes, feeling a little moisture that that damped his skin._

_After several minutes, when he was sure Yamamoto would not attack him from the back, he stood up from the floor. He entered the bedroom and then went out with a backpack. He went to the kitchen and turned off the circuit breaker, which was located at the kitchen. Then, he walked slowly towards the door outside his house (well, apartment to be exact). He opened the door and immediately saw the setting sun which was in front of him. He looked at his house for the last time before closing it and putting a lock._

_Now, he was ready to be the right-hand man of Vongola Decimo. _

* * *

October 12, XX59 ----- 19:22 hours - Gokudera's house

He got his cell phone from his pocket and with strength, he dialed Yamamoto's number. After a few rings, his courage left him and he pressed the red button. He could not face Yamamoto nor could talk to him after what he did. Maybe he'll be able to face him, but not now. Not now, when the Yamamoto's last words rang inside his mind like a requiem bell.

* * *

October 12, XX59 ----- 19:27 hours - Yamamoto's house

Yamamoto just got out of the shower with a piece of towel covering his private part. Water dripped from his hair and a wide smile was prominent on his face. He was whistling a happy tune when someone gave him a half-full carton of low-fat milk. He gladly accepted it and drank it straight.

While he was drinking, the same person who gave him milk reached for Yamamoto's cell phone on the drawer that rang a while ago. That person's face suddenly turned blue when a familiar number was registered in the missed calls log. Yamamoto noticed the sudden change in the person's face which made him a little worried.

After putting the cell phone back on the drawer, the person went behind Yamamoto and hugged him tightly. The person's hands moved around his body, brushing the baseball player's well-sculpted abdomen and chest. Afterwards, those hands removed the towel that was covering Yamamoto's hard cock, earning a chuckle from the taller man.

Yamamoto threw the empty milk carton and it landed on the thrown towel. He held the person's hands and released himself from the hug. He turned around, put his arms around the person and kissed that person in the lips. After the kiss, the baseball player remarked,

"Are you jealous of him?"

"No. You know that I trust and love you so much," the person whispered.

"Could you show me that trust and love?"

Yamamoto sat on the edge of the bed and spread his legs wide. His partner bowed down and kissed Yamamoto shortly, then knelt in front of him and started taking the taller man's erected cock in its mouth.

Meanwhile, when the bedroom started echoing soft moans of pleasure from the couple, a familiar song was played from the restaurant downstairs. The lyrics of the song started to mix with litanies of pleasure produced by the couple.

_But I'm never gonna make it without you  
Do you really want to see me crawl  
And I'm never gonna make it like you do  
Making love out of nothing at all_

"Yamamoto, do you love me?"

And Yamamoto just sealed the question with a deep kiss.

_Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all_

After the kiss, their lips parted from the other, only to be connected by the saliva strings. Yamamoto licked the other person's lips and answered the hanging question with eyes mixed with both lust and love,

"I love you." and smiled when the person below him blushed,

"I love you too, Yamamoto," and pulled the baseball player to another mind-blowing kiss.

_Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all  
Making love, Out of nothing at all_

_end of Part 1  
_

* * *

Finished with the fic.....

just watch out for the next installment which will take sometime for I'll be doing a new fanfic for the KHRfest in LJ....

hope you enjoyed my fic...

comments, whether positive or negative, are welcome...

Arcbound Illusionist

P.S.

I'm quite new here so can I ask on how could I talk to a beta reader. But then, I might doubt if betas like 8027...


	2. Black

October 13, XX59 Namimori City – 06:45 hours

The Italian walked leisurely towards the school, admiring the shining sun above him and looking at his environment that he left two months ago. His glares towards everything were careful and meticulous. He was as if surveying the place if it had changed. Well, so far, nothing had changed. The houses still retained their color, the street vendors still busy shouting at the top of their lungs, and the pigeons and swallows still soaring in the azure blue sky.

He turned left and walked straight towards Tsuna's house. Oh, how he missed his ever-admirable boss! During his stay in Italy, there were times that he wanted to return to Japan and be in the side of his boss. But then, he was always reminded by Reborn that the mission was for Tsuna's future. Despite wanting to return to Japan, he continued his mission in Italy that primarily involved helping the Giglio Nero Famiglia.

* * *

_August 08, XX59 ------ Moonbucks Café - 18:27 hours_

_Gokudera was sitting in a chair, sipping his cup of freshly brewed coffee. He liked his coffee black, without any hint of creamer and milk. Then, the chimes that were hung at the door sounded and as he looked at who entered the door, he was quite surprised that he saw Reborn. Reborn came into his table and sat at the chair opposite him. The tutor's face was serious, no signs of playfulness was felt in him. They called a waitress to order food._

_The beautiful waitress came to their table. She was wearing a Victorian maid outfit complete with laces and corsets. She also wore a wide smile in her face, and her smile was the kind of smiles those girls from the red-light district wore._

_"May I take your order?" her sunny smile was very prominent._

_"One cup of espresso for me." the little Reborn mentioned._

_"Black coffee." Gokudera replied._

_"Is there anything else?" she asked._

_All her smiles just got a plain "No thank you." from Reborn._

_"Okay. Just wait for about 3 minutes," and the waitress walked away disappointed from their table to the counter to get their orders._

_"Gokudera, I have something to talk with you."_

_"What is it, Reborn-san?"_

_The waitress came with 2 plates of single serve bread sticks. She placed it in their respective places and said, "Your orders will come in a few minutes. While waiting, try munching some bread sticks. I guarantee you, it's delicious."_

_"Thank you, miss." Reborn answered._

_The Sun Arcobaleno took a piece of the bread sticks and he find it delicious unlike Gokudera who despised its saltiness. After taking another one, Reborn continued. "As you know, four months ago, the Giglio Nero Ottavo died, right?"_

_"You mean, the Sky Arcobaleno Luce?" he asked._

_"Yes. my boss Luce died four months ago due to the Trinisette curse upon her. She was the stronghold of her famiglia for years due to her power of precognition and her ability to travel at different universes. She had done an almost-impossible task of resolving problems and conflicts without a single bloodshed. However, her death four months ago mainly ended the peace in the famiglia."_

_Gokudera fell silent. After their travel to the future, he learned about her, her daughter and her granddaughter that they protected against a certain man named Byakuran. This man was the same man that his boss mercilessly killed to save them all. Reborn's face become serious and Leon started to move around his master's fedora._

_Reborn continued, "Her death led the famiglia into chaos into choosing the person worthy of succeeding people wanted Luce's daughter, Aria, to succeed as the ninth boss since she had inherited her mom's power and ability. However, there were some people that opposed to her succession."_

_He banged the table with his hands and shouted, "Well, it should be Aria, right? So why did those fucking bastards opposed her?"_

_Reborn took another bread stick and resumed. "Calm down, Gokudera."_

_"Sorry, Reborn-san."_

_"To continue, those people that objected Aria's succession were led by Leonardo Cascurra, one of the famiglia's higher members. He reasoned out that Aria did not possess the qualities of being a good boss since she lacks experience and she had not proved herself yet."_

_"How come?"_

_"In the future, you know how Uni was raised, right?"_

_"..."_

_The waitress who had their orders in a tray suddenly interrupted them. She placed the espresso at Reborn's front and the black coffee at Gokudera's. She smiled and walked away._

_"It was just the same. Aria grew up without knowing about anything about mafia at all. Luce wanted her to grow up in a way that she wanted. Unfortunately, Aria had inherited her powers and her place as the sky arcobaleno as well."_

_Gokudera easily understood what Reborn had explained, as shown by his nods as the Sun arcobaleno talked. Reborn took sip from his espresso and continued,_

_"Well, back to the topic. As you know, Cascurra wanted to be the boss of the Giglio Nero so bad that he threatened the famiglia that he will start a rebellion once he was not chosen."_

_"And then?"_

_"Despite his threats, the other members still chose Aria as the next boss. After few days, Cascurra and his allies broke away from the Giglio Nero and formed their own mafia family, the Cascurra famiglia. He started attacking the Giglio Nero famiglia as a form of revenge. So far, the Cascurra was successful in destroying the Giglio Nero's base in Sicily and Palermo."_

_"Tell me if I'm getting this right, Reborn-san. The Cascurras fucking attack the Giglio Nero just because their boss was not picked as the next boss. And the Giglio Nero were not some lower ranking family that it could not attend to that minor problem."_

_"Gokudera, why do you think I'm telling this to you?'_

_The silver-haired Italian was shocked. After seeing how Gokudera reacted, Reborn continued,_

_"The Giglio Nero already sent a letter to the Ninth Vongola about their situation with the Cascurra Famiglia. Then, the Ninth promised to help the Giglio Nero since he knew that Leonardo had no proper basis supporting his claim and he sees it as a chance of forging an alliance with them."_

_"I see." Gokudera's voice now showed signs of understanding about the seriousness of the matter._

_"In response of the letter, the Ninth decided to send one of Tsuna's guardians to serve as reinforcement to the Giglio Nero. He just asked me whoever guardian is available and I chose you."_

_"Me?"_

_"Yes, you. In all of Tsuna's guardians, you are the most experienced one in terms of engaging other families in wars. Besides, your intellignece will be useful for them."_

_Gokudera just fell silent, as if he knew what Reborn wanted to say._

_"Sorry, Reborn-san but I can't do that..." Gokudera said._

_"Why not?"_

_"Because the Tenth needs me here more than at the battlefield. Besides, there are other guardians that are available. Hibari would be happy to bite them to death or Mukuro for him to have his way to vent his anger towards the mafia."_

_"Very well," Reborn said, smirking at one side of his mouth as his brain hatched an idea. "I'll just ask Yamamoto to do it. He's not that difficult to convince. But mind you, if Yamamoto would take this mission, you will lose something important. Something very important."_

_"Like what?"_

_"The position of Tsuna's right-hand man."_

_"But I will be the Tenth's right-hand man!"_

_"Sure about that?"_

_"You bet!"_

_"Really? But remember, until Tsuna formally succeeds the Vongola Ninth, all the other things can change."_

_"It could not be changed! There will be no fucking person more suitable than me in becoming the boss's right-hand man!"_

_"i don't think so, Gokudera. To tell the truth, Tsuna just pity you so bad that he is willing to risk his life for you to protect him. It is definitely better if Yamamoto would be his right-hand man."_

_"What?"_

_"Well, to let you know, Yamamoto has every quality that a right-hand man should possess: reflexes, strength, intuition, intelligence, resolution and loyalty. Besides, the best assassins had trained him in the business, unlike you who only had Shamal as a temporary tutor. So, based on facts alone, Yamamoto should be Tsuna's right-hand man and not you." the little assassin reasoned out._

_"How could that happen? I'm stronger than Yamamoto!" and he banged the table again, causing his black coffee to spill in the table._

_"You are the only one thinking about that, Gokudera." Reborn retorted. "In the future, I got hold of the adult Fuuta's record in the guardians' overall strength and you know what I found out..." Reborn told him with as a matter-of-fact voice._

_"..."_

_"That you were the second weakest guardian."_

_"No! That's not true!"_

_"Oh, I see you don't believe me. Here, take a look."_

_Reborn showed him a piece of paper. Gokudera took the piece of paper from Reborn and decided to read it._

_Gokudera's eyes widen when he saw for his eyes how he ranked._

_**Ranking of Tsuna's Guardians' Overall Strength**_

_**1st ------------------- Hibari Kyouya**_

_**2nd ------------------ Yamamoto Takeshi**_

_**3rd ------------------- Mukuro Rokudo**_

_**4th ------------------- Sasagawa Ryohei**_

_**5th ------------------- Chrome Dokuro**_

_**6th ------------------- Gokudera Hayato**_

_**7th ------------------- Lambo**_

_He was shattered at what he learned. He could not accept that he was definitely that weak after 10 years. As his eyes move along the list, he was very furious at the fact that the eye patch girl and the boxing idiot were much better than him, in every way possible. Even if wanted to deny this, he could not. As the truth unfolded in his face, he just knew why he was that weak._

_Takeshi! Damn Takeshi! To hell with him! He was definitely the reason why he became a useless pawn in the future! It was definitely Takeshi and their 'love thing'! It made him weak and useless! The paper was slowly crumpled by his enraged hands and dumped it into the table, flattening it,_

_"So, where will the mission begin?" he asked with anger burning in his eyes._

_"After 4 days, let's meet at Namimori park." Reborn just grinned at Gokudera. "One more thing, no one can know about this mission."_

_"Okay." and without another word, the white-haired Italian left._

_After a couple of minutes, Dino arrived at the coffeehouse and sat at the chair where Gokudera sat minutes ago. He noticed the spilled black coffee at the table, and some drips of the said liquid on the floor. He also noticed the crumpled white paper in the table that slowly becoming black. Out of curiosity, he uncrumpled it and read its contents._

_"Reborn, you haven't changed a bit. We both know that he was the second strongest guardian, next to Hibari, right?"_

_Reborn just smirked._

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 06:55 hours – front of Tsuna's house

After a while, he saw Tsuna's house, still the same since he left. The red roof tiles, the squeaking mailbox and the laughter of three annoying children that was heard even houses away, yep, it was really his boss's house.

He walked faster until his feet reached the front of Tsuna's house. After a while, he saw the door slowly opening. At the top of his lungs, he shouted

"Good morning, Bo-" and he stopped when he saw Tsuna's mom stepping outside the house. He was shocked, and a little embarrassed but the person in front of him just smiled and greeted him in a cheerful manner, just like the usual.

"Good morning, Gokudera-kun. I haven't seen you for a while. How are you?"

"I'm fine, ma'am." And then he fell silent.

He always fell silent when Nana was around. Not only he was Tsuna's mom worthy of respect, she also reminded him of his own mother that he never had a chance to love.

Nana went nearer towards him, scrutinizing him inch by inch. Meanwhile, Gokudera was quite nervous as Nana's sparkling eyes looked at him. His body felt stiff and he was sweating profusely. Then, he felt a warm hand gently patting his head. She smiled and asked,

"You're still as handsome as ever, Gokudera-kun. Are you looking for Tsu-kun?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"He's not here. I think he's already in school."

The answer bugged for a minute, and then, he sighed. "O-Okay ma'am."

"I'm glad Tsu-kun has a good friend like you," and another smile flashed from her face.

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm going." Gokudera bowed and ran off.

"Take care, Gokudera-kun."

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 07:10 hours – a certain three-way intersection

Gokudera's smile had slowly disappeared when he started to see the middle of the three-way street. It brought back the happy memories that he threw away like a piece of trash. Those memories with Yamamoto were one of his happiest memories he had aside from his memories with his boss. He had been a total idiot since the time Yamamoto closed the door of his apartment. He had been a total idiot since the time he considered breaking up with Yamamoto would be the best for them. And, he had been a total idiot when he took for granted Yamamoto's pure-hearted dedication and love for him.

* * *

_August 09, XX59 ----- 17:00 hours – a certain three-way intersection_

_"Hey, wanna go to my house for some sushi?"_

_"No, your sushi tastes like trash."_

_"C'mon, don't say that."_

_"I'll say what I want to say and you don't have a right to stop me."_

_"I love you, Gokudera."_

_"What?"_

_"I said I love you, Gokudera."_

_"Stop that crap, baseball idiot! You'll get both of us in the headlines tomorrow!"_

_"I'll say what I want to say and you don't have a right to stop me."_

_"Grrr.... okay, okay... we'll go to your house."_

_"Yes! And then, we'll do awesome stuff and...."_

_"Whatever." _

_After this, Gokudera did not attend school for preparation for the trip._

_

* * *

_

October 13, XX59 ----- 07:14 hours – a certain three-way intersection

He reached the intersection of the three-way street and saw the street that lead to Yamamoto's house. Since last night, he wanted to apologize to him for everything that he said. However, his strength left him as he started doing it. Now, it was the same, he wanted to go straight to his house but his feet pulled him to the other way, the way to school. Even though he wanted to, he just let his feet pull him towards the other way.

* * *

A/N: Finally done with the second chapter. Thanks for reading White Walls.

It took so long because I got confused if I would include how the mission was given to him and why did he have to break up with Yamamoto.

But I decided to put up anyway.

The next problem that I face is either put Gokudera's mission in Italy.

Well, Gokudera's mission would entail how he "redeemed" himself.

Comments and critiques are always welcome....


	3. Doppelganger

Whew! At last, finished with the third chapter…

Got tangled with requirements so it came late…

Well, enjoy the chapter…

and the mystery begins...

* * *

White Walls Chapter 3 - Doppelganger

October 13, XX59 ----- 07:23 hours – Namimori Middle High School Main Grounds

Nothing's changed.

Gokudera thought as he set his feet inside Namimori Middle High School. The school was still the same. The main school building that stood in front of the gate remained the same school building that always welcomed the learners with warmth. He saw the enormous clock on the building, heralding the start and end of classes. His eyes also did not let the landscape escape, noticing the beautiful ornamental plants and the old sakura trees. Lastly, he noticed the students walking alongside him towards the school. Some were sad, some were happy; some are quiet but nevertheless noisy.

A group of girls grabbed his attention, mainly because they were noisy bragging about their latest fashion accessory. He took a glance at them, as if he wanted to see what they were bragging about. As he found out, it was their earrings that shone brightly on their ears as sun's rays hit them. Gokudera was attracted to the earrings, especially to the color of sapphire that they refract. He thought that the earrings should not be worn by those girls, and added to the fact that all of those girls have homely faces. Unluckily, the girls saw him and immediately assumed that after a moment, his ears heard something that rocked his world,

"Gokudera-sama is back!"

Fuck, just as I need, he mumbled as the attention of other girls went on him. Aside from the girls crowding on him, the screams of admiration spread like a wildfire. He heard his name being shouted almost everywhere and he was not happy about it, especially that his eardrums get smashed at that instant. As annoyed as he might be that his eardrums were starting to break, he got pissed off when the girls started to tug on his shirt, as if the girls had never seen a man for years.

"Stop tugging my shirt, you useless bitches! Tug whoever you want but not me, goddamnit!"

Suddenly, he noticed that the screams of admiration became screams of fright and they started to leave him. He had sighed on relief on the fact that students actually listened to him but little did he realized that he was not the cause of their dispersal until he saw a figure emerging from a distance, meters away.

He proceeded straight to the school building and saw that the figure was no other than the notorious Disciplinary Committee chairman, Kyouya Hibari, shoving an innocent student that happened to be on his way. As their eyes met, the prefect chairman walked towards him with an unwanted expression, with hands holding the tonfas in attack stance.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Non-students roaming around the campus will be bitten to death."

"What the-? I'm freaking going to the registrar's office to confirm my status, bastard!" and he started to walk away towards the registrar's office when he heard Hibari's monotone voice,

"Stop."

"You don't have a right to stop me, bird-singer."

Gokudera ignored it and continued walking towards the registrar until he heard footsteps going quickly towards him. As his eyes took a look, it was Hibari rushing towards him for a hit. Instinctively, he shielded his body by forming a cross block with his forearms. However, the force that Hibari applied was too strong for him and his body fell on the ground.

"When I say stop, stop. Understood?"

Gokudera rose up from the ground and sensing that there was no point of arguing, he said, "Fine. So what do you want?"

As Hibari opens his mouth, the Disciplinary Vice-Chairman Tetsuya Kusakabe ran towards them with documents in his hands,

"Kyou-san, there is another Namimori Middle student sent to the hospital. According to th-"

Hibari's eyes narrowed at Kusakabe, bringing him into silence. The man gulped at his stare, bringing shivers in his skin.

"Who was the student?"

"Matsumoto Ryou, 2nd year, Class 2-A, member of the baseball club."

Hibari just yawned and said, "Just a herbivore, nothing to worry about. Anyway, let's go." As he turned around to go somewhere, Gokudera held his shoulder and turned him.

Gokudera growled, "Hey, bastard! Don't turn your back on me without telling me what would you want to say!"

"How. Dare. You. Touch. Me."

The next thing that Gokudera knew was that a tonfa hit his gut that made him fall on his knees and put his hands tightly in his abdomen to relieve the pain. He looked angrily at Hibari with teeth grinding in anger while the other man stared coldly, but with obvious hints of disappointment in it.

"Never mind what I said a while ago, herbivore. Everything had changed and figure out for yourself what had changed."

Without any word, he turned his back and stormed out from Gokudera, along with Kusakabe that was a little relieved that nothing happened. As Gokudera saw them leaving, he felt something, something disturbing. He felt a puzzling sensation that everything was just an illusion that he was forced to perceive. He wanted to ask many questions, to clarify many things and justify many irrational thoughts but all he got were footsteps moving away from him.

But just like Hibari said, he should figure it out for himself.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 07:37 hours – Namimori Middle High School Registrar's Office

Gokudera entered the registrar's office with caution. He just didn't want to destroy his comeback in Namimori by being in detention again and besides, that would lessen his chance to be with his beloved boss. As he entered the office, he immediately approached the counter and presented his documents that Reborn fixed for him and gave it to the person stationed as he finished his mission in Italy.

The girl in the counter grabbed his documents and placed it on the table. Then, she got her glasses from the bag beside her person and wore it. After a few minutes of glancing and reading, she adamantly said,

"All papers are confirmed to be true. Please wait for about 5 minutes. We'll just wait for the principal to arrive."

Gokudera shouted, "What? Wait for that damn principal to arrive?"

"Yes."

"Can't you understand? I have classes at 8:00!" he reasoned out but the real reason why he was rambling was about he wanted to see his boss and the baseball idiot so bad.

The woman just "You cannot be considered enrolled without his signature in your documents. Aside from that, you need to attend all your classes today and make them sign in this paper. If one of the teacher did not sign this paper, you will not be admitted and will be expelled immediately. That's all."

"What about my classes?"

"Don't worry, your tardiness will not be recorded since it is your first day and it was the principal's fault. Why don't you sit there for a while until the principal comes?"

The lady's forefinger pointed a chair that was behind him. Having no other option, he sat on the chair that the lady pointed. After sitting, he crossed his legs and started rocking his feet on the floor and made a rhythm on it.

After a while, the door opened and a middle-aged man appeared. The man looked tired and stressed at the same time, loosening the tie in his shirt as he set his foot in. The man spoke in a tired voice,

"Mitsuko, do I have a schedule at 10:00?"

The girl in the counter replied, "You have a meeting with the Board of Trustees at 10:00 on the Conference Room. Why, Mr. Principal?"

"Cancel that meeting. Set an emergency summons to the student council organizations and to all the teachers. There's another student being beaten by some gang in the neighborhood. It is the third time for this week that a student got hospitalized and the parents started to get worried," the principal said and went inside his cubicle.

After a moment, the girl got on the principal's cubicle and handed him some documents. Gokudera watched as the girl entered the cubicle until he could not see her and contentedly listened to them as the two had their conversation,

"Ok. Oh, before I forget Mr. Taniguchi, I want you to sign this document of confirmation of status. Gokudera Hayato of 2nd Year Class 2-A returned from Italy."

"Did you say Gokudera Hayato?"

"Yes."

"Call the boy. I want to talk to him."

After a while, Gokudera saw Mitsuko came out of the room only to call him to go inside. Gokudera stood immediately from his seat and went to the principal's cubicle.

"So, are you the famous Gokudera Hayato from Class 2-A?" the principal asked him with a smile in his face.

"What if I am?"

"I just want to give you a little piece of advice," he said as he scanned the documents given to him by Mitsuko and after a while, he got a fountain pen from a penholder and signed the necessary documents for Gokudera's confirmation.

Gokudera retorted, "Is this about the Matsumoto Ryou student who got beaten up and sent to the hospital?"

"How… did you know?" The principal's mouth dropped open since he did not expect that this newly returned student knew about it.

"I heard some of the students talked about it earlier."

"Okay," the principal replied and gave the necessary documents to Gokudera. "Just take care of yourself, especially that the victims all came from your section. That's it. Enjoy your studies."

Gokudera became worried by the principal's warnings about students from his section was beaten up one by one. In his mind, he could picture Tsuna being beaten by the delinquents mainly because he was not there, Tsuna's right-hand man that would risk his life and do everything for his boss. Without any adieu, he grabbed his documents and rushed out of the room to attend the class.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 07:55 hours – Namimori Middle High School 3rd Floor

Gokudera walked on the familiar corridor towards his room. In both his eyes, he saw everything that he expected to see. He saw some students talking to each other about the latest happening. Others were gossiping, whispering juicy bits of gossip to the ears of the expectant listener. Some were running along the corridor, throwing things up in the air. Lastly, there were some people staring at him as he passed by. Eyes of estrangement, admiration, envy, and jealousy coming from the other students analyzed him from head to toe. He was a little annoyed but he just ignored them as he entered the room.

"Gokudera-kun is back!"

That was the first greeting he received from his classmates although he the one that he expected was Tsuna's greeting and warm smile. All of a sudden, the admirers swarmed him like honeybees in a beehive, asking about his vacation in Italy. Some even asked about if he had found a girlfriend in his vacation. He just ignored the girls and proceeded in his chair, waiting for Tsuna.

His eyes glistened when his eyes saw his boss, walking happily inside the room. He figured out that the reason why he left their house earlier was because he fetched his girlfriend, Kyoko, from their house and walked with her. His assumption suddenly become debunked when there was no beautiful Kyoko Sasagawa that entered the room but a smiling Yamamoto Takeshi. He saw the two entered the room while talking about something. Tsuna went to his seat and Yamamoto just crouched down near Tsuna's seat with his hands on the desk.

He did not know what to do to talk to Yamamoto. He was very nervous and at the same time, scared. He knew for a fact that he was the one who ended up their relationship for a ridiculous reason and he wanted that relationship be fixed. He was still hoping that Yamamoto had not found a replacement for him, and he stuck on to that belief like a mountaineer holding on a rope just to survive.

Gokudera stood up from his seat, shoved the girls crowding in him and went to the side of his boss. And like he usually does, he bowed in front of Tsuna and greeted his boss,

"Good morning Juudaime. I'm back from my vacation in Italy."

Tsuna smiled and replied, "Welcome back, Gokudera-kun. So how was Italy?"

"It was fine, Tenth. I wished you were there."

Both of them laughed until a loud noise broke it. The noise came from Yamamoto's hand that banged the desk a while ago.

"So Tsuna, have you done your assignment?"

"Nope. How about you?"

"Nope. We could get scolded together."

The two let out a soft laughter on the fact that they did not have made their assignments made Gokudera furious. He shouted,

"Hey baseball-freak! You should be helping the Tenth with hi-"

Yamamoto just ignored him and asked Tsuna who was listening to them, "So, Tsuna, how was Kyoko? Is she doing well now?"

"She's fine, I guess."

"So Boss, what happened to Kyoko?"

For the second time, Yamamoto interrupted Gokudera. He was quite pissed at the Rain Guardian, as if he was treating him like a non-existing person in the room.

"Hey Tsuna, I heard a joke from Dad's radio yesterday. Want to hear it?"

"Sure."

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Riverboat."

"Riverboat who?"

Yamamoto breathed deeply and sang, "Riverboat so young when I first saw you, I close my eyes…" (1)

Yamamoto could not help but to laugh his heart out at that joke. Gokudera found it corny and remarked,

"So retarted, moron. Could you think of other jokes?"

Gokudera then noticed that Tsuna was also laughing at that joke. He just kept silent and let the two have their fun. He thought that Yamamoto was still angry with him, to snob him like that. When the two stopped laughing, Gokudera asked but was interrupted by their English teacher that entered the room. Gokudera returned from his proper seat and so was Yamamoto, who was still sitting on the same seat two months ago.

The teacher went immediately on the front and talked,

"Class, I have something to tell you. Your monthly examination will be three days from now and I want you all to review, especially those people who could not differentiate an oboe from an elbow."

Gokudera sensed something that was not right and he looked at his classmates, who were all amused. When his eyes turned to Tsuna, he saw his boss's face frowned a little. Afterwards, he glanced at Yamamoto who lost his smile and started to stare at the teacher. Gokudera instantly deduced that the teacher was pointing towards his boss. His teeth gritted in irritation but suppressed it since he needed to observe first.

"You know yourself, you who do nothing but to give jewelry to their seniors to gain respect. Please remember, my dear students that respect is earned not _asked._ SO, if you want people to respect you, you must do honorable and respectable things or since you are fond of giving _rings_, why don't you give us one to earn a little bit of respect, even you don't deserve one."

Gokudera saw that almost all his classmates laughed, in exception of his boss who looked embarrassed, Yamamoto whose hands started to clench and a transfer student who was just looking at the window.

The teacher continued, "So, before-"

CLASH!

Gokudera turned around to see where the noise had come from. He was shocked when he saw where it came from. It came from Yamamoto's chair that was pushed and fell onto the floor. Many were shocked to see that Yamamoto did it, even Gokudera gasped to see that it was Yamamoto.

Yamamoto, unmindful of all the stares by the other people, stood up and said,

"Let's go, Tsuna. The discussion's gets boring."

Gokudera looked at Tsuna as his boss stood up from his seat and walked away with Yamamoto.

"Juudaime-" was the only word that Gokudera could mention as he saw Yamamoto and his boss walked away from the classroom. He could not follow them since it would cost him his enrollment. Besides, he thought to himself that Hibari was right on what he said earlier and it would be best for him to follow his advice, even though he would not be with Tsuna for a while.

_Everything had changed and figure out for yourself what had changed._

And before turning to the teacher, he saw the transfer student walked away from the classroom.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 08:27 hours – Namimori Middle High School 2nd Floor

Two people meet in a hallway, one was going to the right, while the other one was going to the left,

"Yamamoto Takeshi, any student who cuts classes should be bitten to death."

"C'mon, Kyou-kun. Don't be mad."

"..."

"..."

"I'll be waiting. Same time, same place."

"Yep."

"Just make sure you'll satisfy me. I abstained for days just to have this..."

"Okay. Okay. I am also feeling the same today..."

"..."

"I hope you still know..."

"Yeah, just meet me later..."

"Sure..."

They passed each other as if nothing happened.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 08:27 hours – Namimori Middle High School Rooftop

Yamamoto and Tsuna went to the rooftop and sat there. At the moment they sat, Tsuna burst into tears. The taller man comforted him by putting his arms at the smaller man's shoulder as a sign of his presence and support.

"Don't cry. I'm always here. I'll never leave you unlike all the others did."

"Really?"

A nod was all he got from Yamamoto but it was enough to calm his heart and his body was pulled closer by that warm being.

* * *

Notes:

(1)– lines from Talyor Swift's song, _Love Story_

* * *

_A/N: Please try to review the fic (either positive or negative comments will be lovely) for me to improve my writing and to know what I should not do…_

Thanks for reading…


	4. Aconite

Chapter 4 – Aconite

Hehehe… Arcbound Illusionist here…

I hope you enjoyed the previous chapters.

By the way, be mindful of the time being mentioned as these will provide important details in the later part of the story. If anyone noticed something odd about the last two scenes in the previous chapter... it's intentional and a part of the plot...

Well, here's the next part…

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 08:45 hours – Namimori Middle High School 3rd Floor

The class became very awkward after the walkout. Ms. Fujisawa had both of her eyebrows raised and started teaching her lesson about interjections after thirty minutes of babbling about passing their tests, respect and everything that will let her take back against the students who fearlessly walked out from the class. The other students, however, feared for an upcoming war as the teacher went with her tirades. They were frightened that Gokudera might snap at any moment when she verbally insulted his boss and the baseball idiot. Despite their fear, Gokudera just kept silent all those time, telling to himself to wait and observe everything.

Gokudera's mind wandered around the classroom since the current lesson bored him. He started thinking about what Hibari said this morning.

_Everything had changed and figure out for yourself what had changed._

The bomber knew for a fact that the skylark would never, ever give him a warning, piece of advice or something if the current situation was not worthy of his time. The only things that could get his interest were fighting and strong opponents. But then, the only people in the school that he might have interest fighting with were his boss, the baseball freak, the boxing idiot and himself. However, the person didn't meddle with them as long as they don't disrupt the order in the school or else, there was another strong person in the school.

Based from this hypothesis, there were two possibilities that could be conceived. First possibility is the existence of a strong person enrolled in the school within the last two months and was currently posing a threat to the Vongola. It may be an assassination, coup-d'état, theft of the rings and blackmailing. This was quite impossible since there were no fools that would plan to brew up a mess against his boss or unless they wished for a one-way trip to heaven for his family and himself. Added to that was that it directly contradicted the skylark's clear warning.

The second one was quite different from the first. In this possibility, something had already happened and the effects had manifested within those two months that he was away. This could be directly compared to a sickness that had showed its symptoms after an incubation period upon the host's body. In this way of thinking, he could just assume that something occurred to his boss and then, all things went disarray. The thread justified the teacher's behavior, as well as Yamamoto's and his boss's actions. Hibari's words fell on to this thought too, for 'everything had changed' presupposed something already happened and the effects were the changes that manifested in Namimori.

However, this thought was questioned by the transfer student which entered the classroom. If he remembered correctly, he saw the transfer student went out after his boss and one hell of an idiot ex-boyfriend, which already was strange. The appearance of this new boy reinforced his first hypothesis and weakened his second one but there was something in the boy's appearance that made him doubtful, if not, cautious.

At first glance, Gokudera immediately noticed the boy's black hair that could be mistaken as a tangled mop. His body was quite thin with his back being curved and his limbs being thin. As he looked at the face, he noticed the big, dark circles around his sunken eyes that utterly ruined the porcelain skin complexion. His legs were long and slender but a little wobbly, causing his body to shake while taking each step. The uniform was somehow too big for his body frame, making a small-sized shirt appear large. He just thought that this guy was better off wearing a black robe and an oni mask than wearing their uniform.

The teacher, who noticed the transfer student's entrance, took advantage of it and started talking,

"Mizuno Rui, come in front."

The boy stopped in his tracks and after a while, he went in front of the class. She boastfully held his chin and raised it.

"May I ask you, where have you been?"

"Restroom," the boy simply replied. Gokudera could sense the twisted sense of understanding steaming from the student, as if the teacher will not be here again tomorrow.

The teacher was annoyed by the student's answer. She tightened her grip in Rui's chin and retorted, "Tell me, since when did using a restroom requires 40 minutes?" Her voice suddenly changed from angry to mocking, as if she figured out something, "Unless you're jacking off inside a cubicle, looking at a picture of someone."

"No."

She gave him a smirk and continued interrogating him in an ironic manner, "Just what? Humping someone?"

Rui just stared him deeply in the eye, as if he did not understand what she was trying to do and pointing out at her statement.

Everyone burst into laughter, even Gokudera could not resist chuckling at the boy's idiocy. However, he stopped when he saw Rui's stare become sharp towards the teacher. Then, he calmly removed the teacher's hand and replied in a very creepy voice, "Simpleton." and walked out of the classroom.

The students had goosebumps on that voice while, on the other hand, the dumbstruck teacher blood pressure rose up from Rui's insolent action and started lecturing the students about respect to teachers and their roles as students in an education-centered country.

The thriftiness in speech, creepiness of voice, sluggish movements… all of these reminded Gokudera of someone they fought against in the future. However, something was different, or to say in the simplest way, missing between Rui and that someone in the future. The storm guardian was left wondering on how capable that student was to pose a threat to the Vongola. But he promised to himself, as his right-hand man, he would never, ever let something bad happen to his boss.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 08:57 hours – Namimori Middle High School 3rd Floor

Gokudera stood up from his seat and approached Ms. Fujisawa who was practically annoyed on what happened to her class. He immediately flashed his certificate for the teacher to sign. She raised an eyebrow at him, knowing how he was related to Tsuna and Yamamoto. Then, she asked,

"So, how was Italy, Mr. Gokudera?"

She signed his certificate using the fountain pen she had on her own person. After signing, she immediate gave it to the waiting student.

"Fine."

"A word of advice, darling. Distance yourself from Sawada and Yamamoto, those two are making records lately."

_What in the hell is this damn teacher talking about? His right-hand man should always be in the boss's side, he thought._ However, he just asked, "Records? What about the records?"

"Haven't you heard?"

"Would I ask you if I know?"

"Well, how should I say it..." she mused for a second and continued, "Both have been hitting the nerves of the faculty lately for the past 2 weeks and been the regular customers of detention. I hope that serves as a warning for you, Gokudera-san. See you tomorrow." And she walked out to attend her next class.

"Wait! Wait!" Gokudera tried to ran after her but she bumped on her homeroom teacher who was their next subject teacher, leaving him no choice but to attend to the next class.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 09:03 hours – Namimori Middle High School Rooftop

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Let's go back to the class. It's homeroom."

"Yamamoto, about…"

"You feel pity, don't you?"

The boy nodded.

Yamamoto put his ever-reliable arm around Tsuna's shoulders and said, "Your kindness to undeserving people will lead you to nowhere, Tsuna." His face changed from a smile to a frown. His black eyes shifted from a cheerful daze to an angry stare. "Just look at what happened to me. I was too kind and that bitch…" he said, his teeth gritting and his fist clenched tightly on the other man's shoulder.

Seeing his guardian in distress, Tsuna threw a sympathetic gaze at him and asked him, "Yamamoto, are you still affected?"

Upon seeing Tsuna's concern over him, he smiled again and let go of the shoulder that he was holding on tightly.

"Haha, of course not, past is past. The only important thing now is that the plan would be successful, especially that Gokudera's here to stop it."

Tsuna lowered his head, "Yamamoto, you know, you don't have to do all of this, I mean, everything's fine-"

"Fine? Are you blind? Everything's not fine, Tsuna!"

"It's just that they…"

"Tsuna, haven't I told you this before? As your Rain Guardian, I cannot let anything everyone that made you cry that time. I will see to it that they will suffer, Tsuna, _suffer._"

"…"

"Tell me, do you want me to continue this or not?"

"…"

"You know that I know what you truly want this, right Tsu-kun?"

The brunette replied timidly. "Yes."

The swordsman brought out a soft laugh and replied, "I'm happy that I am making you smile again."

"Um, about Hibari-san, I think you and him are going too far…"

"C'mon, Kyou-kun's just being Kyou-kun…"

"Well…"

"Hm?"

"I just worry too much."

"Yeah, you're just anxious. C'mon, let's visit him."

"Him? As in him?"

"Uh-huh. This jerk owes me one."

"…"

"Tsuna, the two of us know that this piece of shit will walk around naked if you wanted to. Besides, I just want to make sure that everything will be fine for tomorrow."

"He's busy this day and, let's just go to the canteen. I'm a little hungry because someone ate half of my breakfast this morning."

"Sure."

The two laughed as they walked towards the cafeteria, ignoring the fact that they have classes.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 09:03 hours – Namimori Middle High School Faculty Room

She looked at the compact mirror she was holding and saw lines across her forehead. She immediately applied powder on her face using the sponge until those pesky lines disappeared.

_Damn that Mizuno, Sawada and Yamamoto! They're destroying my beauty!_

Without her noticing, the door opened and someone peeked inside the room. Seeing that the only person in the room was Ms. Fujisawa, the person entered inside and closed the door. The teacher closed her compact powder and was terrified to see the person approaching her slowly.

"Why are you… " and the room was filled with eerie deafness and silenced noises.

After a few minutes, the person left out of the room and reached out for a picture in his pocket, revealing the picture of a cute woman in her mid-30's with two odd-looking children in her arms, a kid with a tome as big as him and a teenager with a cute stuffed doll in his head.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 09:05 hours – Namimori Middle High School 3rd Floor

"Class, settle down. I have some announcements to make."

The students stopped from chatting and faced the teacher.

"Listen," Mr. Eizawa started, "your next two classes are suspended and will be spent in club activities."

Wild screams filled the classroom. Everyone was pleased to hear that they have no classes for two hours, all except Gokudera since he had something to do. Therefore, he raised his hand and asked,

"What about me? I need the teachers to sign my documents!"

The teacher smiled and replied, "Well, Mr. Gokudera, I guess you need to attend the meeting for the teachers to sign up your certificate."

Gokudera yelled, "What? I need to attend that damn meeting? I am neither a teacher nor a student organization representative to begin with!"

The teacher was shocked. He was only joking but unfortunately, it backfired to him. He looked at his students in fear that they might hear Gokudera. Luckily, the students were chatting with each other that they did not notice their conversation.

"Gokudera, come here!"

The student complied and walked briskly towards him.

"So… you know about the meeting later?" he whispered.

"Hell, yeah! It's about that Matsumoto being- hmmmp!" A hand forcefully covered his mouth. He learned that it was from the teacher, who was now looking very, very nervous. Gokudera bit his hand, causing Mr. Eizawa to release his hand. The bomber caught his collar and shouted,

"What's your problem?"

"Gokudera, could you keep your voice down?"

"Keep my voice down? Are you kidding me? You're asking me to attend a stupid meeting about that Matsumoto jerk being hospitalized as well as the other baseball students in this classroom, then covering my mouth? You're a jerk!" the bomber shouted.

The teacher could not react from the heavy silence that immediate enveloped the room. Added to that was the students' mood shift from happiness to distress. He was given questioning looks and glances from the students that made him produce big grains of sweat in his forehead.

"What is Gokudera talking about?" a student said.

"Sir, you said they were just sick?" another one added.

"Are you hiding something from us?" A female student asked.

In one moment, the students literally caused uproar inside the classroom. The angry and agitated students were all demanding for information from their teacher.

"Class, class, settle down. We're just joking, right Gokudera?"

Gokudera just gave him an irritating look while the other students looked cynically at him. Realizing that he had no other choice, the teacher confessed,

"Silence, I'll tell everything."

The classroom suddenly turned very quite and the students became focused to the teacher. No one dared to make unnecessary noises and actions that could break the silence of the room. The teacher, who was convinced that the students were all ready to listen, started,

"Class, as you all know, your classmates, Suruga Kyosuke, Miyagi Takenori and Matsumoto Ryou were all absent because they were sick. But, the truth is, they were all beaten and heavily injured during the past few days this week."

"The principal started to get disturbed since some parents started to get worried. So, he summoned all the teachers and student organization representatives to an emergency meeting about the students' security inside the campus and putting an end to the streak of Namimori Middle School students being beaten and hospitalized in the past weeks."

One student interrupted him and asked, "Sir, why did the school hide this from us?"

The teacher sighed, "We, along with the parents of the victims, decided to hide this issue for you to not worry about your classmates and to prevent another school-wide scare like what happened when Kokuyou Middle School students beat up our students."

The class was convinced with the explanation given by the teacher. However, they started fearing for their own security inside the campus, since three of the victims were their classmates. One of them asked,

"Sir, how about Kyoko-chan? Did she get beaten to death too?"

The teacher sensed that the students got anxious after hearing Sasagawa's name.

"Sasagawa Kyoko was absent due to a different reason," then the teacher looked at Kurokawa and continued, "Kurokawa, could I tell it to the class?"

The bomber noticed Kurokawa's saddened face. Her eyes lost the usual sharpness and her expressions were indescribable. It was as if she was carrying a burden. However, it was only normal since she was her best friend. Then, he thought about his boss whom he thought was worried about his girlfriend. After a while, she spoke,

"Yes."

The teacher, after getting permission from Kurokawa, spilled out the reason with gloom written all over his face,

"Sasagawa was in the hospital, recovering from a failed suicide attempt."

A spectrum of reactions rose from the students which the Italian could not avoid to notice. Some were asking Kurokawa if that were true, only to be answered by either a nod or a 'yes, it's true'. Some cried about Kyoko's condition and tried to sympathize with her current condition. Afterwards, students began chatting softly with their eyes at the bomber, as if they were hiding a confidential secret from him.

If Kyoko was not the topic of conversations, it was their worry about their safety since some victims mentioned were from their class. A boy blamed the robbers at the shopping district, another blamed the senior students and others pointed their fingers at Kokuyou Middle School students for they thought that they were the people behind this.

In all the reactions that Gokudera saw, one stood out. It was from Fujita Yukito, a member of baseball team. He was sweating at his seat, with his hands holding tightly at the edge of his seat. Then, the other students asked him if he was okay and he just nodded slowly.

"What's with him? I do hope that this doesn't bother Juudaime," the white-haired teen mumbled.

After a while, Mr. Eizawa observed something about the students' reactions and got the students' attention by asked,

"Class, since I told you about the agenda of today's meeting, I think I have the right to ask this. Did something happen during the past two weeks?"

The class exchanged whispers with one another with the only audible words were Sasagawa, Sawada and a certain Kobayashi Miyabi. The teacher noticed this and announced,

"Okay, okay, would someone tell me what was with Sasagawa, Sawada and this Kobayashi Miyabi that would cause the things that are happening today?"

Gokudera became alert at the second he heard his boss's name. He was right about his second hypothesis about a particular event that happened within the span of two months and somehow, it involved his boss. However, he felt that something was not right, that there were particular puzzle pieces that were missing in the picture.

* * *

October 13, XX59 ----- 09:32 hours – Namimori Middle High School 3rd Floor

Meanwhile, in the middle of their discussion, the door opened and saw his boss and Yamamoto entered the room and sat on their respective places. The mood of his beloved boss was brighter than earlier and so as Yamamoto, who was noted to kick the desk an hour ago.

Mr. Eizawa just sighed and said, "Sawada and Yamamoto, both of you are over 30 minutes late. Where have you been?"

"Sir, we were just in the canteen," Yamamoto replied.

"Don't tell me that you two cut classes again?"

Yamamoto just laughed his usual contagious laugh while the other students got annoyed.

The teacher laughed, "As I expected…" his eyes dropped and turned towards Sawada.

"Well Sawada, we have been talking earlier about something and I learned that there was something that happened between you and Sasagawa. Could you tell us what happened?"

Sawada calmly replied, "Nothing happened, Mr. Eizawa. But I do know that she is in the hospital, recovering from a failed suicide attempt."

"You know about that?"

"Yeah, her brother told me about her condition."

Gokudera saw it clearly. He saw the sharp stares of his classmates rained at Sawada all at once and his boss did not waver in shock or fear. He only saw his boss glanced at Yamamoto and then at him. As he caught his boss' glance, he sensed the embarrassment and regret laced in it, making him very uncomfortable. He started to wonder what really happened at those two months.

Fujita, who was shaking earlier, stood up from his seat and approached Sawada. He grabbed him from his seat and punched him. "Of course, we expected you to know that, Sawada! You're the reason why she committed suicide!"

Sawada fell over his chair while the people near him immediately evacuated into the sides. Everyone was pleased to see his boss being punched, as if they were waiting for it. Gokudera had enough of all the whispers, the annoying stares and rumors towards his boss. If he would let this things happens towards his boss, he would be unworthy of being the right-hand man

Before he could react, Yamamoto was already there, punching Fujita hard in the stomach. Fujita toppled over a chair and fell into the floor. From his position, Yamamoto mercilessly mounted on him and gave him a flurry of punches on the face. He tried to defend himself by using his forearms as a shield. However, the shield immediately crumbled against the strong punches and in one moment, the poor man found himself receiving every bit of Yamamoto's anger.

Amidst cries for him to stop from his classmates, the enraged swordsman continued his barrage unto the man as if the misery brought by his punches served as cheers for him. Gokudera noticed something unusual about the scene. Although the others were begging Yamamoto to stop, no one actually made an effort to restrain Yamamoto, even their teacher. In their eyes, he could sense the 'sorry, you're on your own' in their stares On the other hand, he noticed Yamamoto's eyes and shocked as they saw it. It was a serious, determined glare with one thing in mind, to kill.

Gokudera shivered at the sight of those eyes. Those sharp, cold eyes were the same eyes that he saw when he broke up with him. Those menacing eyes did not display mercy, compassion and any trace of Yamamoto's attitude on those black eyes. Instead, those eyes only showed anger, revenge and lifelessness. He thought that he would never see those eyes again but he was wrong and the proof was in front of him.

The class screamed louder when they saw Fujita's mouth bleed from a solid punch. Fujita's voice began to muffle as blood flows into his mouth and it only flows out of his mouth as Yamamoto's blow landed on it. Now, the other male students attempted to get Yamamoto away from their classmate. Some tried to pull his hand, some tried to hold his back but all in vain for one of them who pulled his hand suddenly found his wrist being pulled and his face being hit.

Almost everyone moved towards the side of the room, afraid that one of them would share the same fate. But among the class, one of them tapped Yamamoto's shoulders and said,

"Yamamoto-kun, it's enough."

Yamamoto stopped and turned towards the person who touched him.

"Tsuna…"

Yamamoto stood up and pulled the boy from the ground with his hair. Then, he whispered something to Fujita before letting him off. Everybody noticed the latter's reaction and was terrified. Fujita was shaking and having difficulty to stand. His legs gave up in fear and he fell onto a classmate who, luckily, gave him a helping hand. The said classmate volunteered to bring him to a clinic.

And as the two were walking out of the classroom, they were accidentally bumped by Rui. The latter just apologized to them and continued walking towards his seat. Apparently, he did not notice the blood stain in his uniform that he got from the bump.

The whole class literally turned dumbfounded. As shocked as they were in Fujita's action, no one opened their mouth and said something. They just exchanged meaningful stares at each other and returned to their seats. Meanwhile, the teacher got a clean sheet of paper and wrote something.

After writing he looked at his class. When he noticed that all of them clamed down, he stood up and snnounced,

"Mizuno, Sawada and Yamamoto, I want to talk to the three of you personally. Proceed to the Detention Room, now!"

However, an angry Gokudera charged towards the teacher and shouted,

"How dare you involve Juudaime in detention! It was Yamamoto's fault! Are you blind?"

Mr. Eizawa, as if he just learned that he had the authority over his class, replied,

"Instead of babbling nonsense here in the classroom, Mr. Gokudera, why don't you try attending the meeting as my substitute?"

"What?"

The teacher handed him a piece of paper and said, "Here's a letter authorizing you to be my representative in the meeting. Everything that they need to know is written in the letter so don't worry. After the meeting is finished, talk to me in the Faculty Room and I will sign your document."

Despite all protests, Gokudera had no choice but to attend that damn meeting. Maybe he could get something important in the meeting like the information that his classmates were hiding to him and to know how the school was changed in those two months that he was gone.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto stood up from his seat and went to Tsuna to assist the latter. He got Tsuna's bag and carried it along with his bag in his shoulder. Then, they passed Gokudera whom Yamamoto intentionally hit with the bags he was carrying.

Gokudera shouted, "Won't you say sorry to me, asshole?"

Yamamoto neither apologized nor tuned to him. He just raised his hand a little, just right for Gokudera to see and flashed a dirty finger.

"I had enough, baseball-brain, take this!" and he launched a punch against Yamamoto. However, he felt a force holding him back from completing that punch. He looked at his back and saw the transfer student, Rui Mizuno, holding his fist with his bony hand.

"Let me go, fuck!"

The boy did not let him go. Instead, he just looked at the silver-haired teen's face with his eyes. Gokudera could feel the eerie feeling that he felt before, only with the irritation of being analyzed by a weirdo.

Mizuno released his hand and uttered, "Pathetic human."

"What did you say, freak?"

He saw how Mizuno ignored him and walked alongside Yamamoto and his boss. After a while, he saw how his ex-boyfriend handed the bags he was carrying to the boy and then wrapping his arms in his shoulders and pulling it closer to him. What annoyed him the most was not what Yamamoto did but the boy's consent to Yamamoto's arm. It made him very angry and at the same time, _jealous_.

In the end, he came up with a conclusion. Both of his hypotheses were correct and to combine both of them was very, very logical. In his mind, a spark of mystery ignited inside him. He wanted to know _that bad _what the hell happened in those two months and what did that transfer student do to be that close to his boss and Yamamoto.

* * *

Finished with the chapter…

Well, if you're curious about Rui Mizuno and his ability, I left some clues about his real identity…

Anyone who gets it right gets a cookie…

By the way, I also left subtle hints on what is really going on and if you managed to figure it out despite the subtle hints, I'll give you another cookie…

Thanks for reading.


	5. Rui Mizuno: The Guardian of Truth

Hello, Arcbound Illusionist here...

I know that this took months before the update... and here it is... after months of procrastination...

and the mystery is now starting to unravel... about what really happened and about Rui's true identity...

although this will be fully discussed on the succeeding chapters...

hope you enjoy it...

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Rui Mizuno: The Guardian of Truth**

* * *

October 13, XX59 - 10:00 hours - Namimori Middle High School 3rd Floor

Gokudera's feet froze in place as he saw his ex-boyfriend; walking along with his boss and the transfer student disappear from his view. He instantly felt the need of going out of the room, run after them and confront them about the things that he missed within the last two months. He wanted to apologize for his boss for he prioritized other famiglia instead of him and for not being on his side for those two months.

Aside from his boss, he wanted to tell Yamamoto of how idiotic he was for breaking up with him for no reason at all, of how he was blinded by his ambition of being the right-hand man that he forgot him, of how he stupid he was for taking his love as nonsense, and of how he longed for him for that last two months.

His mind flew with the surge of thoughts about Yamamoto that he did not notice that his classmates were now walking outside the room. He stared at them like a rabid dog, blaming them for what happened, although a part of him was shouting that it was clearly his fault. He looked at his hand and saw the authorization letter crumpled inside his fist. He instantly opened it and put it between two pages in his thick, Japanese History book, hoping to remove the creases in it.

He was about to go out when one of his girl classmates, Aiko Minami, approached her. She swallowed and then asked,

"Go-go-gokudera-kun, do you have a minute?"

_Just what I need. _"What do you want?"

The Storm Guardian noted the girl's eyes evading his glare when he looked at her. He knew her for a fact that this girl in front of him has a huge crush at Yamamoto, not that he wanted to remember it.

"Um," the girl started, her hands wringing in her front and turning her body in place, "Gokudera-kun, why did you left?"

_Is this girl an idiot or what? Of course, it's for the Tenth. _"A vacation for Italy. What's it to you?"

"Well, I mean, why did you left _them_?"

"Again?" his anger, started to slide past him.

"I said," in a voice that implicitly voiced out her sorrow, "why did you left _them?_"

_What the hell? You have no right to ask me that, slut! _

His stomach turned upside down upon hearing the girl's question the second time, with more emphasis on the word _them_. A rush of guilt and regret came to him like torrents, making him very irritated.

"Are you saying something, stupid woman?"

"It's just, um, when you left, they became strange."

_Fucking god! What in the hell really happened in those two damn months?_ "How strange is strange?"

That question slid out of his tongue unconsciously, as if he realized that he chose the wrong words. However, the girl's expression changed. Her hands stopped wringing on each other and her eyes courageously met his green eyes. She breathed deeply and released the bottled emotions that she had been keeping,

"Gokudera-kun, what you saw earlier was just one of the things that they had been doing since the past weeks."

The Italian's eyes widen in horror. "Past weeks? And what do you mean _one of the things they had been doing?"_

"It all started when the transfer student came here weeks ago."

The silver-haired bomber reasoned out "You know what? I don't get you. What does that mophead have something to do with all these?"

Aiko was doubtful of whether she should say it to Gokudera or not. She was really afraid that the person in front of him would kill her for saying. However, she thought of Yamamoto and that gave her courage to continue,

"That transfer student was the one that-"

Strains of agitation and anger started to mix in his voice. "Would you just tell me straight what it is!"

"Since he arrived, Yamamoto's attention just went to him and Tsuna."

"This is beyond nonsense! As if I would believe that."

The girl breathed deep and said, "You are not forced to believe. Since Rui arrived, he evaded all of us except Tsuna and him. And he suddenly became like you, Gokudera."

"What do you mean by 'that'?"

"He easily became agitated and angry whenever Sawada was hurt. I guess what you saw earlier can serve as proof, but it was nothing compared to what happened three weeks ago."

"What happened during that time?"

"Yamamoto rushed into the school wielding a sword and was looking for-"

"Is Mr. Eizawa here? He's needed to the conference room."

They looked at the direction of the voice and found Tetsuya Kusakabe, the Vice Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee. His presence alone struck fear at Aiko that she stopped talking and quickly ran away from Gokudera.

The Storm Guardian let out an angry snarl. "Let's just go, Kusakabe."

The tall prefect replied, "Well, if it isn't Gokudera-kun. I'm glad you're back. But-"

He walked towards the Kusakabe and hand him the crumpled letter. "I'm his representative and I have his permission."

"I see," he replied as he returned the letter to the bomber, "but I cannot join you. I need to fetch the other teachers and the club representatives."

Having nothing else to say, Gokudera passed Kusakabe without a word and walked towards the conference room.

* * *

October 13, XX59 - 10:00 hours - Namimori Middle High School Detention Room

The trio entered the Detention Room quietly and as soon as they stepped in, Yamamoto released his arms off the other two. Then, he sat the fourth seat on the first row. The transfer students carefully placed their bags on a nearby seat and settled down on the third chair to the left on the second row. Tsuna, meanwhile, occupied the seat beside Yamamoto

Immediately after the brunette sat down, the swordsman turned towards Tsuna. "Are you okay? The punch and the fall must have hurt."

Tsuna, who was humming a strange song, replied, "It was nothing. However, I am worried on what happened earlier."

"You're worried about me?" he asked, feigning the amazement that he had shown in his face.

"Of course. Why would I be worried about him?"

"Because you two are best friends?"

"Friends? That's not funny, Yamamoto."

"C'mon, acquaintances?"

"I can live not knowing him."

"You're freezing, Tsuna."

"Huh? Really?"

He chuckled, "Yup."

Tsuna couldn't help but to feel awkward at what Yamamoto said. Personally, he knew what the swordsman meant underneath the words, but still, having it said to him was still different. However, a smile flashed out of his lips, making Yamamoto smile too.

Out of nowhere, Rui said, **"Disappointed."**

Both turned around to look at the transfer student behind them. They saw him holding his shirt, focusing his eyes on the bloodstain while on the chair, sitting on top of the balls of his feet. Then, when he noticed that the two was staring at him, he looked at them and said in a very vampiric manner,

"**Disappointed. Failed. Kill."**

Both Yamamoto and the Vongola boss were startled by what he said. Sweat beads came out from Tsuna's head while an expression of realization came out from the other.

"What kind of a friend am I?"

Yamamoto, smiling with his signature grin, turned towards the sweating Vongola Boss. Tsuna's eyes widen in shock as the raven-haired man's eyes looked at him with humor with hidden hints of regret.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that Yamamoto?"

"Nothing."

Rui's words rang again, **"Disappointed. Failed. Kill."**

"Seriously, Yamamoto…"

The swordsman pushed his desk forward and then dragged Tsuna's seat beside him, closing their gap to a mere inch. The brunette almost fell out from his seat if not for his hands that tightly held the edges of the chair. Then, his hair stood when an arm was wrapped around his shoulders and a soft whisper tickled his ear,

"Are you disappointed that I failed to kill him right at that spot?"

"Of course not!"

"Are you sure, Tsu-kun?"

"Y-Yes, I'm sure of it."

As if his warm breath was not enough for the Vongola Boss, he started to use his asset and that was using his tongue in licking Tsuna's ear, He let his slick muscle roam around the teen's clean ear, licking the soft, clean ear that still tasted the same.

"So you're telling me that Rui's lying to us?"

Tsuna became more and more terrified as he felt Yamamoto's breath in his ear, both ticking and arousing at the same time.

"Y-Y-Yes."

"Tsuna, could you just tell the truth? You're making me annoyed."

"B-But t-th-that's the truth, Ta- yamamoto!"

His nipped at the man's earlobe, noticing the shining silver earring pierced into it. Using his teeth, he gently nipped the earring, causing Tsuna to moan. The swordsman smiled as he saw Tsuna's reaction,

"You're so cute, Tsu."

Tsuna shivered as he felt a calloused hand running on his lap, caressing slowly the inside of his thigh. The soft strokes were sending electrical charges to his senses, sensual electrical charges.

"W-w-what a-re ah you-ou doing? Stop oh-it."

"You like it, ne? Should I continue up your cock?"

"No-, plea-ple-"

That voice rang again, **"Fuck! Don-uh't tease me, mor-uhn…Tahkeshitt…"**

Yamamoto smirked as he saw Tsuna's bewildered face. He knew that nothing could be more surprising than to hear his voice came out from Rui's mouth.

"I have truth in my side, Tsu-kun."

Tsuna moaned when the swordsman's hand moved upwards towards his crotch. He felt that calloused hand rubbing and cupping his manhood between the sheets of clothing. The said hand was slowly touching him to hardness; something that Tsuna knew was inevitable.

"Yamamoto, s-s-touhp it-uh."

"**Shit, Tak-ah-fuck, go deep-uh."**

Yamamoto smiled again as he heard Tsuna's voice that Rui imitated. It gave him the motivation to continue on his ministration, looking forward to the point of Tsuna's admission. He knew for a fact that Rui's imitation of Tsuna was not any ordinary thing. Those voices that Rui voice out were Tsuna's real feelings.

"I guess I need to-"

"Ye-yeah-yes, I do-ah re-ah-lly wah-nt you to kill-uh that bastahrd!"

Yamamoto's hand stopped at that words and stood up from his seat, mainly just to kneel in front of Tsuna. He grabbed the latter's hand and kissed it softly. Tsuna felt the heat rushing towards his head, making him redder.

He smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry, I lost control of myself. You know that I will do anything for you."

"I know," the Vongola Boss replied. "The only reason that I hid it from you is that you might really kill him there. Even if I want him dead, I just can't take the consequence of something bad happening to you."

"It's all my fault, Tsuna."

Tsuna frowned and his eyes lost its shine. "That's okay. Besides, you still have to let the bastard live for him later. That guy will lost his mind if you killed the lowlife."

The swordsman saw that and instantly felt pain in his heart. "I'll set everything right, don't worry."

"But…"

"Tsuna, this time will be different, I promise. Besides, a student will not be punished if he did not do anything illegal, right?"

"Yeah."

Yamamoto fixed his eyes with Tsuna's big, brown eyes and asked, "Tell me, did I do something illegal?"

"Aside from beating the crap out of that student, no."

"See? Then, I'm innocent."

Yamamoto's laughter filled the room. Meanwhile, Tsuna saw Rui on the chair, sitting on the balls of his feet. He smiled at him and apologized,

"Sorry if you have to be involved in our problem."

"Anything for friends."

Yamamoto stopped laughing and asked the new student, who was reaching something from his pocket. "How do you 'see' him, Rui?"

"Pathetic." He said while releasing his hand from his pocket along with something that Tsuna noticed.

Yamamoto laughed and said, "So, have you figured out something interesting?"

"Yes."

"Yamamoto!" Tsuna shouted.

"I won't do anything to him. Yet."

"You promised me! You said you'll so nothing to him!""

"I know, I know. But once he goes near me, Tsuna, I might break that promise."

Tsuna frowned. "Yamamoto…"

Yamamoto looked at both of his friends and smiled, "I think it's time, don't you think?"

Tsuna and Rui nodded in unison.

* * *

October 13, XX59 - 10:09 hours - Namimori Middle High School Conference Room

He knew to himself that he should be in his boss's side right now, but he found himself walking towards the meeting room where he was forced to attend a teacher's meeting. He made a swift sweep in his hair to remove the bangs that disrupted his vision.

Few steps away from the door, the skylark appeared, along with its steel tonfas and inquired about him,

"What are you doing here, herbivore?"

"Here." The Italian showed the letter in front of Hibari's face.

The Disciplinary Committee Chairman grabbed the letter and read the contents. His eyes moved quickly line after line, reading the letter with precision. After a while, he returned the letter to Gokudera and said,

"Your seat will be the seat next to Ms. Fujisawa." And after that, he went inside the room.

The bomber followed the man inside the room and looked at the room. He noticed that the tables were joined together to form a big letter U inside the classroom. Then, he saw some chairs being put along the table. In Gokudera's estimation, he saw about 17 chairs per side that made a total of 51. Meaning, aside from him, there will also be 50 other people who will be in the meeting and one of those people is Hibari.

Speaking of Hibari, he saw the man walking towards the front of the room in which the pricipal was stationed. He said something to the man and then walked away. He did not need to ask if their short-conversation was about him since he saw the principal took a glance at him before shifting to another side.

Upon turning to his right, he saw Ms. Fujisawa sitting and looking herself at the small compact mirror she had with her. He saw how she delicately applied some powder in her face and spreading it evenly on his face. When the teacher saw him looking at her in the mirror, she immediately closed the compact and put it on her bag and asked him,

"So, how was your stay so far, Mr. Gokudera?"

"Fine."

"Well, enjoy yourself. You don't know how long your stay will last, honey." She chuckled a bit before reading a novel on her front.

The bomber sensed something odd with her, as if this person was really different from the one she met earlier. Although not sure of the felling he was getting from her, he asked,

"Excuse me, you're saying something about the Tenth earlier, right?"

She put down the book and replied, "And that was about…?"

"Sawada, you mean?" The teacher was suddenly stopped in her speech as if a thought rushed to her. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go to the restroom."

"Go."

Ms. Fujisawa added, "If the meeting starts, just tell them where I went, okay?"

"Whatever."

"Thanks, honey."

Gokudera watched as the teacher went away from the room, sniffing a strong scent of perfume that lingered in her wake.

* * *

October 13, XX59 - 10:17 hours - Namimori Middle High School Detention Room

The three settled down on their seats as Mr. Eizawa walked towards the room, bringing three envelopes that he placed on the table. He had the uncomfortable face as he sat on the chair and faced the three inattentive students.

"Here we are again." Mr. Eizawa sighed.

"Yeah, sensei." Yamamoto smiled.

Looking straight at the Japanese, he said, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

The swordsman replied, "We want Gokudera to be re-sectioned to Class II-D."

The troubled teacher shouted, "That's impossible, Yamamoto! His grades are too high for him to be re-sectioned."

"But what if he failed the English exam and started a fight?"

"That could be a ground… but again, what are you planning, Yamamoto?"

"I want him away from the three of us!"

Knowing that Yamamoto would be unshakeable about it, he turned to Sawada "Sawada, what can you say about what Yamamoto is saying?"

The brunette replied, "I'm fine with it. I don't need useless people."

"I can't believe you, Sawada." He turned to the third one, who was looking at the window. "How about you, Mizuno?"

All Mr. Eizawa got was a confusing stare from the boy before the said boy stood up and went to the windows. However, he could not deny the fact that there was something unusual about the stare that made him a little disturbed.

"It's very difficult, but I want something in return."

The swordsman smiled, "Now we're talking."

"Promise me that you three will never do anything reckless again."

"No problem, sensei."

Tsuna intervened, "Besides, we have an additional gift to you, Mr. Eizawa."

The door opened and in Mr. Eizawa's surprise, it was Ms. Fujisawa. She closed and locked the door, then approached the surprised teacher kissed him in his lips. The kiss was torrid ana a lot of sucking sounds echoed through the room. After they broke the kiss, Mr. Eizawa uttered, "Ms. Fujisawa…"

The said teacher put his fingers in his mouth and hushed, "Just call me Akiko."

"Is th-this th-the additional gift?" he said as he saw kneeled in front of him and felt he silky hands spread his legs with her hands before expertly removing the buckle of his belt.

"Yup."

Yamamoto noticed that Rui was not on his seat, so he stood up and went beside him. He enclosed the skinny man with his arms and hugged him tightly. The transfer student turned around and smiled as he hugged the swordsman.

"Don't you want to watch the live porn?"

"No," he replied.

Yamamoto looked at Rui and noticed its silver earring, shining under the sun and boasting its luster to the eyes of the swordsman.

"Don't ever remove that earring, okay. It looks so good to you."

The transfer student replied, "Yours also. Earrings. Stay."

A chuckle came out from the swordsman, touching his silver earring as well. The earrings that they bought weeks ago were their friendship earrings, which served to be the bond of their friendship.

"I know. The three of us will be friends forever. And we will never leave one another."

The brunette looked at them and snorted, "Would you just do it already?"

Yamamoto looked at Rui and closed his face to the other's face, "Everything will go fine. I promise."

Without any hesitation, Rui sealed the swordsman's luscious, smiling lips with a soft, gentle kiss.

* * *

I guess you already know the real idenity of Rui Mizuno...

hehehe...

and see you again to another chapter...

lastly, please leave comments so that I may know your feelings towards the fic..

hehehe...


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